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Howtopickthe perfectpearl
Thechoiceofpearls available has neverbeen
greater or more tantalising. So howcan you
ensurethat youfind your ideal string?
Have an openmind
Youthink you want bigand black, but do you? Pearls, like clothes,
don’t necessarilysuit all skin tones. The advice is verymuch ‘tryit
and see’, because until the pearls are around your neck, or in yourThey have been adoptedasaclassicsymbol of femininity and style
ears, you just can’t tell whether or not they will be the ones for you.for women throughout history, from Cleopatra and Elizabeth Ito
Elizabeth Taylor and PrincessDiana. Pearls are also celebrated Is bigbeautiful?
in the art world, perhaps most famously in Johannes Vermeer’s Pearls come in arange of sizes from around 2-22mm. If your style
17th century‘Girl with aPearl Earring’.One way of testing for is bigand boldthen the large pearls of Tahiti and the South Seas
imitations is rubbing the pearl against the biting edge of afront will undoubtedlyappeal, but if your look is understated elegance,
tooth. Whileimitation pearls feel completelysmooth, natural then arow of fine Akoya, Japanese cultured pearls may be the ones
and cultured pearls are composed of nacre platelets, which feel for you. There is no hard and fast rule, all other factors being equal,
slightly gritty. the larger the pearl the more you should expect to pay.
The demise of thenatural pearl began during the early part of the Black,purple,
20th centuryaspearl bedsbecame over-exploited.Itwas at this
time in Japan that Kokichi Mikimoto was developing the veryfirst green or grey?
cultured pearl. He was not the first to have tried,but all previous Time was when pearls were
attempts failed to capture the essential nature of apearl: that it almost universally cream, but
should be round. In 1893,after near bankruptcy,hecreated his not anymore. Today’s pearls
come in amultitude of colours;
so don’t just stick to milky
shades –try on blacks and
greens, greys and golds, pinks
and chocolate browns, or mix
and match with spectacular
multi-colour strands.
Trustyourjeweller
You’d better believe it: your
jeweller has seen more than a
few girlsinpearls and his/her
expert knowledge will undoubtedlybeable to guide you
towardsthe best possible strand for your complexion,Photography by EuroPearls
your price range and your lifestyle.
first semi-spherical pearl. It took him another twelve years to create Take good care
acompletelyspherical pearl that was almost identical to the best
Pearls, if they are properly treated, will last alifetime, butnatural pearls. At first his revolutionarytechnique was mocked as
rememberthe golden rule: ‘Last thing on and first thing off.’fake, but was later embraced internationally. With the element of
Don’t spray perfume on your pearls and keep them wellawayrisk removed, pearl farmers could reliablycultivate perfectly
from your cosmetics.Ifyou store them safely in their ownspherical high quality pearls on alarge scale. Japan’s pearl industry
jewellerybox and have them restrung regularly, they willtook off and by 1935 was producing 10 million cultured pearls
shine for years to come.ayear.
Love thepearls you’re inNowadayscultured pearls grow all over the world. Theirgreat
If apearl appeals to you, you likevariety comes from environmental factors. Freshwater pearls are
the colour and the size and itsformed in mussels that live in lakes and rivers, saltwater pearls
lustre seems to smileatyou…in oysters that live in the ocean,often in protected lagoons.
and above all you feel and lookThisexplains why cultured pearls can include the exotic Black
great wearing it... what else doSouth Sea pearls from bedsinTahiti,aswell as the pink-tinged
you need to know?Akoya pearls from seas around Japan.They don’t just grow in
tropical waters. Folklore hasitthat Julius Caesar’s decision to
invadeBritainin55BC wasn’tjust downtoamegalomaniacal
desire to conquer the world–Scottish pearls were considered Tips produced in conjunction
to be some of the finest available! with Euro Pearls
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